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Druid Hill Park - Forest Drive reviews
17
0
One of the DMV region's best courses
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Dec 2, 2023
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
This is a very challenging course in central Baltimore (of all places). Challenging for most amateurs, I would think. Due to a good deal of elevation change, including climbing into and out of ravines. The latter are plentiful and intersect fairways (lengthwise or crosswise at holes 1-3, 7-9, 10-12, 15-17). Traversing to and through most of the course is a workout unto itself.
However, Forest Drive makes a very nice companion to the more relaxed, parkland Legacy course. Played together (in one configuration or another) provides great balance. After getting smashed up by the longer, wooded course, it's nice to air drives out more and be a slither less precise on the Legacy course.
Remnants of structures (stately homes?) blend with the natural woods in a rather enchanting way on the FD course. I did not feel this way initially, but I have come to appreciate the beauty of this place.
There are holes that are tough (or really tough), but they are also fair: nos. 2, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16. The OB creek makes short, straight-ahead 17 no pushover. If you don't make the green but stay inbounds, your next shot should be a lay-up. If you're not already wet.
Nos. 3, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 14 are all get-able (it's nice to be cut some breaks sometimes), but some of these also have challenges (rollaway greens, elevated baskets, unrecoverable OB fence) that can easily up the strokes.
However, Forest Drive makes a very nice companion to the more relaxed, parkland Legacy course. Played together (in one configuration or another) provides great balance. After getting smashed up by the longer, wooded course, it's nice to air drives out more and be a slither less precise on the Legacy course.
Remnants of structures (stately homes?) blend with the natural woods in a rather enchanting way on the FD course. I did not feel this way initially, but I have come to appreciate the beauty of this place.
There are holes that are tough (or really tough), but they are also fair: nos. 2, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16. The OB creek makes short, straight-ahead 17 no pushover. If you don't make the green but stay inbounds, your next shot should be a lay-up. If you're not already wet.
Nos. 3, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 14 are all get-able (it's nice to be cut some breaks sometimes), but some of these also have challenges (rollaway greens, elevated baskets, unrecoverable OB fence) that can easily up the strokes.
Cons:
Baltimore can be a scary place. Unlike DC, West Baltimore has never really recovered from riots after the 1968 assassination of civil rights champion MLK Jr. Yes, there are pockets of regeneration, but this is not widespread.
You want to come here when there are lots of folks on the scene. Happily, there is a local crowd that is often around, and (of course) you're safe to play during a tournament of 100+ people. However, this is not the place to tarry after sunset.
If you don't have a lot of time or you are of a certain age, you don't want to come here when you have to hurry. This is a course you need to take your time on to navigate safely and have some success in keeping your score as low as you can. The rollaway potential is high in many places.
The elevation changes in the navigation are not the worst I've encountered but also nothing to discount. There are places that are slippery, where you might fall. Generally, the climbing up and going down can be quite tiring. Pace yourself. Especially in summer.
There's plenty underbrush and plenty trees on the Forest Drive course, but what hides your discs the most are the carpets of autumn leaves. I didn't have any trouble finding my discs in summer, and threw blue in the fall. You definitely have to eyeball your disc to the ground, and it's definitely not stupid to have one person in your party serve as spotter.
The local club offers 2 alternative layouts that integrate the Forest Drive and Legacy courses together. One is called the Front 18 and includes Legacy 1-4, then Forest Drive 1-9, and then Legacy 5-9. The other is called the Back 18: Legacy 10-12, FD 10-18, Legacy 13-18.
While these integrated layouts are very interesting and make for nice combinations of rolling parkland and hilly woods, the double numbering of holes (on the Forest Drive hole signs) can get you very confused. UDisc helps a ton, whether you are playing Forest Drive exclusively or doing one of these F18 or B18 layouts.
If you are playing Forest Drive exclusively, it is recommended that you play (using the bigger numbers on the hole signs) holes in this order: 1-6, 15-18, 10-14, 7-9. Clear as mud until you play it. This flow is indeed much better than going in numerical order (bigger numbers on the hole signs). I'm not sure if the local club is going to try to undo the entanglement of the double numbering scheme or just leave things as they are...
You want to come here when there are lots of folks on the scene. Happily, there is a local crowd that is often around, and (of course) you're safe to play during a tournament of 100+ people. However, this is not the place to tarry after sunset.
If you don't have a lot of time or you are of a certain age, you don't want to come here when you have to hurry. This is a course you need to take your time on to navigate safely and have some success in keeping your score as low as you can. The rollaway potential is high in many places.
The elevation changes in the navigation are not the worst I've encountered but also nothing to discount. There are places that are slippery, where you might fall. Generally, the climbing up and going down can be quite tiring. Pace yourself. Especially in summer.
There's plenty underbrush and plenty trees on the Forest Drive course, but what hides your discs the most are the carpets of autumn leaves. I didn't have any trouble finding my discs in summer, and threw blue in the fall. You definitely have to eyeball your disc to the ground, and it's definitely not stupid to have one person in your party serve as spotter.
The local club offers 2 alternative layouts that integrate the Forest Drive and Legacy courses together. One is called the Front 18 and includes Legacy 1-4, then Forest Drive 1-9, and then Legacy 5-9. The other is called the Back 18: Legacy 10-12, FD 10-18, Legacy 13-18.
While these integrated layouts are very interesting and make for nice combinations of rolling parkland and hilly woods, the double numbering of holes (on the Forest Drive hole signs) can get you very confused. UDisc helps a ton, whether you are playing Forest Drive exclusively or doing one of these F18 or B18 layouts.
If you are playing Forest Drive exclusively, it is recommended that you play (using the bigger numbers on the hole signs) holes in this order: 1-6, 15-18, 10-14, 7-9. Clear as mud until you play it. This flow is indeed much better than going in numerical order (bigger numbers on the hole signs). I'm not sure if the local club is going to try to undo the entanglement of the double numbering scheme or just leave things as they are...
Other Thoughts:
It's nothing fancy to look at. Knowing you are in the middle of tough West Baltimore will rightly give you pause. Similar to Sedgley Woods in Philly. You don't come here blindly oblivious and detached from reality.
Nevertheless, Forest Drive is one of the best disc golf courses that we have in the greater Baltimore-Washington, DC area. The combination of very challenging holes, get-able holes, deep woods, ravines, and elevation change make this a top-notch design.
If you have the time and want to play both Legacy and Forest Drive at the same outing, it is certainly doable. You can play them separately, maybe getting some lunch in between. Or you can do F18/B18 and get lunch in between those.
I've yet to play the Hillway course which is also in the same expansive park. Back in its heydey a century-plus ago, Victorian Druid Hill Park was all that and some. You can tell.
If you don't want to play so much disc golf in one day and have come a long way to play Forest Drive and/or Legacy, the Baltimore Museum of Art (on the same property) is spectacular. The permanent collection is awesome and distinctly comprehensive. The temporary exhibits are imaginative. I have not visited the zoo yet, but that also is a day-trip option and also in the same expansive park as the disc golf courses and art museum.
And if you only wanted to play 18 holes at Druid Hill but wanted to play another disc golf course in the area, there are others not so far away to choose from including Patapsco Valley, North Glen, Kinder Farm, and possibly Goucher College (if open to the public).
Nevertheless, Forest Drive is one of the best disc golf courses that we have in the greater Baltimore-Washington, DC area. The combination of very challenging holes, get-able holes, deep woods, ravines, and elevation change make this a top-notch design.
If you have the time and want to play both Legacy and Forest Drive at the same outing, it is certainly doable. You can play them separately, maybe getting some lunch in between. Or you can do F18/B18 and get lunch in between those.
I've yet to play the Hillway course which is also in the same expansive park. Back in its heydey a century-plus ago, Victorian Druid Hill Park was all that and some. You can tell.
If you don't want to play so much disc golf in one day and have come a long way to play Forest Drive and/or Legacy, the Baltimore Museum of Art (on the same property) is spectacular. The permanent collection is awesome and distinctly comprehensive. The temporary exhibits are imaginative. I have not visited the zoo yet, but that also is a day-trip option and also in the same expansive park as the disc golf courses and art museum.
And if you only wanted to play 18 holes at Druid Hill but wanted to play another disc golf course in the area, there are others not so far away to choose from including Patapsco Valley, North Glen, Kinder Farm, and possibly Goucher College (if open to the public).
10
0
Terrific Urban Wooded Course 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Mar 20, 2021
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
+Excellent use of the land and landscape available. These are not 18 additional holes just crammed into whatever they had - thought went into the hole designs.
+Challenging holes with tunnels, ravines, gaps, right-and-left hyzers, lots of distance, etc - you'll need the full arsenal for these 18 holes.
+Turf tee pads and older baskets (just one tee and pin per hole) - while well-worn - were in good condition. Hole signage was surprisingly detailed for a course that originated as "X-holes".
+Plays nicely on its own for 18 holes or woven in with the Legacy course (Front and Back 18).
+Almost zero safety concerns with non-DG pedestrians, unlike Legacy on nicer days when the park is busy.
+Challenging holes with tunnels, ravines, gaps, right-and-left hyzers, lots of distance, etc - you'll need the full arsenal for these 18 holes.
+Turf tee pads and older baskets (just one tee and pin per hole) - while well-worn - were in good condition. Hole signage was surprisingly detailed for a course that originated as "X-holes".
+Plays nicely on its own for 18 holes or woven in with the Legacy course (Front and Back 18).
+Almost zero safety concerns with non-DG pedestrians, unlike Legacy on nicer days when the park is busy.
Cons:
-Just the one layout, so it reduces replayability a bit...but it's on the same site as two other 18-hole courses and FD can be woven in seamlessly with Legacy for alternate layouts, so not really a big issue.
-Layout is kinda confusing the first time - you actually play the holes out of numerical order if you play FD by itself (you only play them in order 1-9 and 10-18 as part of the Front 18/Back 18 combo with Legacy). If you don't have an experienced person with you, you could get lost.
-Layout is kinda confusing the first time - you actually play the holes out of numerical order if you play FD by itself (you only play them in order 1-9 and 10-18 as part of the Front 18/Back 18 combo with Legacy). If you don't have an experienced person with you, you could get lost.
Other Thoughts:
Park in the same place as you would for Legacy and walk over to Legacy hole 5's tee pad to get to the FD hole 1 tee. FD hole 10's tee is just to the right of the purple pin on Legacy hole 12.
Overall, I prefer the hole design/challenge/setting of FD over Legacy, but Legacy has better infrastructure and two tees/pins per hole. Together, Legacy and FD make a superb combo.
Overall, I prefer the hole design/challenge/setting of FD over Legacy, but Legacy has better infrastructure and two tees/pins per hole. Together, Legacy and FD make a superb combo.
